Importing From India to Portugal

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Ask a sourcing consultant where to make 200 streetwear pieces and Portugal comes up before India. One did exactly that in 2024, naming Portugal, China and the USA as the best low-MOQ options, and an Indian supplier in the same thread agreed that India has few makers chasing high quality on small runs (r/streetwearstartup, 2024 (opens in a new tab)). So Portugal is India's rival as much as it's a customer, and that's the first thing to know.

It's still a real buyer, though. Here we cover the Portuguese part of importing from India - the VAT (island rates included), the label, what Portuguese controls have stopped and the ports. Honest caveat - we have no India-Portugal figures by chapter beyond T-shirts, so we won't pretend to know the full mix.

Last researched 28 September 2026 · Next review 24 October 2026 · Written by SourcingFrom

Duty is common to the whole EU and lives on the EU bloc page.

Portugal as Buyer and Rival in Textiles

India shipped US$6.97 million of cotton T-shirts to Portugal in FY2025-26, down 21% on the year (TradeStat EIDB (opens in a new tab), HS 61091000, our query). Portugal's own textile and footwear industry in the north buys Indian yarn and fabric as inputs too.

Which raises a question worth asking early. If Indian fabric becomes a Portuguese garment then the garment's origin is decided by the rules of whichever agreement it's later exported under, not by EU import rules, so get the origin rule for your end market before you build that chain.

Can India compete on small premium runs? Yes, but you'll need to find the makers who actually want small orders, and that's a search of its own.

VAT on the Mainland and the Islands

Import VAT (IVA) is charged at 23% on the mainland. The regional governments of the Azores and Madeira may set lower rates for imports cleared there, so a consignment for the islands is priced differently (Código do IVA, article 18 (opens in a new tab)). If you clear there then check the island rate on the day.

The textile label must be in Portuguese. Ask for European Portuguese fibre names, because the Brazilian forms your supplier may already use for other buyers are close but not identical (and a Lisbon shopper will notice).

What Portuguese Border Controls Stop

Portugal's file is a quiet one - 11 EU food alerts on Indian goods since 2021 (our count of RASFF Window (opens in a new tab), to 23 September 2026). The most recent is a useful warning, though. In August 2026 Portugal stopped Indian potato chips classed as composite products because they came without the required private attestation (RASFF 2026.7646 (opens in a new tab)). If you import Indian snacks with any animal-derived ingredient then ask your broker which attestation applies before the goods sail.

Customs and Ports

Customs is the Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira (opens in a new tab). Sines, Leixões (Porto) and Lisbon are the container ports. Sines is a deep-water Atlantic port on some Asia-Europe loops, which can make Portugal an early call when services run round the Cape. We found no India service calling Sines direct in the schedules we read, so ask your forwarder whether yours relays and where.

Next Step

Looking for a maker who'll take small runs? That search starts on Suppliers. Duty and product rules are on the EU bloc page, India's deals are on India's trade agreements, and how certificates of origin work covers the paperwork.